British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current total amount of costs paid to solicitors representing claimants under the Claims Handling Agreement, British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The total costs for claimants' solicitors handling claims under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is £1.01 billion (includes Solicitors Co-ordinating Group, UDM and Vendside Limited) as at 31 March 2009.

Business Continuity

Lord Cotter: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress is being made to encourage businesses in the United Kingdom, and in particular smaller businesses, to adopt business continuity management practices.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence there is of the success or otherwise of local authorities in promoting business continuity management to local businesses as required in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004; and who in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is tasked with championing the needs of business in this area.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) annual survey into business continuity management, funded by the Cabinet Office, provides an assessment of the state of business continuity planning in private, public and voluntary sector organisations. The results are widely used by business and are presented along with a set of recommendations aimed at improving the resilience or organisations. They suggest that, in the years since the Civil Contingencies Act was passed in 2004, there has been a modest increase in the proportion of organisations surveyed that have a specific business continuity plan from 47 per cent in 2004 to 52 per cent in 2009. They also suggest however that only 25 per cent of small organisations have business continuity plans; and only 14 per cent were aware of business continuity management guidance provided by their local authority. By comparison 49 per cent of medium and 64 per cent of large organisations had business continuity plans.
	Business continuity management is a key element of national resilience to emergencies and is lead by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat of the Cabinet Office, on behalf of the Government as a whole, including BERR.

Care Services

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish the reasons for all cases of missed visits by social care workers and publish the results.

Lord Darzi of Denham: We have no plans to do so. Information on missed visits by social care workers is not collected centrally. Local councils are responsible for the quality of the services they commission or purchase and for ensuring that those services are delivered according to agreed contracts and service users' plans of care.
	The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 require that care providers deliver the services specified in service users' plans of care as necessary to meet their needs. The regulations are supported by national minimum standards (NMS), which set out clearly what providers are expected to do to demonstrate that they comply with the regulations.
	The NMS include requirements that services should be managed and provided at all times in a waywhich meets the individual needs of the person receiving care, as specified in their care plan. Care staff should arrive at service users' homes within specified times and work for the full amount of time allocated. Providers must ensure that there is continuity in relation to the care or support staff supplied and that they are only changed for legitimate reasons. Service users, their relatives and/or representatives should be kept fully informed on issues relating to their care, at all times.
	If providers fail to comply with regulations, they may be subject to enforcement action by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

Care Services

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks are made to ensure that social care workers are fully qualified.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Social workers are currently the only members of the social care workforce who must be qualified in a way that is specified nationally, in order to carry out their role.
	To practise in England social workers must be registered with the General Social Care Council (GSCC). The GSCC accredits and monitors the content of social work qualifications and in order to be registered, social workers must have successfully completed an accredited course.
	It is the employers' responsibility to ensure that all the social workers they employ are registered with the GSCC.

Care Services

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many social care workers are qualified to administer medical treatment.

Lord Darzi of Denham: This information is not held centrally.

Care Services: Plans

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent Care Plans are regarded as confidential.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Care plans are subject to the same confidentiality requirements as other health and social care records and it is for the individual or patient to decide who should have access.

Care Services: Plans

Lord Ashley of Stoke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that all care plans are adhered to by social care workers.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulation 2002 require that care providers deliver the services specified in service users' plans of care as necessary to meet their needs. The regulations are supported by national minimum standards (NMS), which set out clearly what providers are expected to do to demonstrate that they comply with the regulations.
	The NMS include requirements that services should be managed and provided at all times in a way which meets the individual needs of the person receiving care, as specified in their care plan. Care staff should arrive at service users' homes within specified times and work for the full amount of time allocated. Providers must ensure that there is continuity in relation to the care or support staff supplied and that they are only changed for legitimate reasons.
	If providers fail to comply with regulations, they may be subject to enforcement action by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

China: Organ Transplants

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have sought or received from the Chinese authorities regarding the ethical and legal supervision of their organ transplantation programme since the World Medical Association passed a resolution on the subject at its annual conference in 2007.

Lord Darzi of Denham: We are aware that significant legislative action has been introduced in China to regulate the use of donated organs. The Chinese Human Organ Transplant Act establishes a regulatory authority called the National Organ Transplantation Committee with the following objectives:
	Evaluation of hospitals and clinicians performing transplantation in China;Promotion of the adoption of brain stem death criteria to enable heart beating donation; andInternationally recognised standards of training.
	The Secretary of State for Health met Mr Chen Zhu, Minister of Health for China during his recent visit to Beijing in October 2008 and discussed the organ transplantation programme in China. Minister Chen Zhu stated that organ transplantation policy in China had been reformed and improved. He particularly stressed that press reports suggesting that Falun Gong prisoners' organs had been procured for transplantation were inaccurate. Minister Chen Zhu advised that Chinese laws now prohibit the trading of organs and there is a clear requirement for consent.

Civil Service

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Patel of Bradford on 22 April (WA 401) stating that "recruitment into the Civil Service is based on the principle of selection on merit", whether this would be affected by the provisions of the Equality Bill.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The provisions set out in the Equality Bill are consistent with the Civil Service recruitment principles.

Cluster Munitions

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions which they signed last year.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: In order to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the necessary domestic legislation has to be passed first. Preparatory work has begun on this and a draft Bill will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Constitution Committee: Surveillance Report

Lord Goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not yet responded to the Second Report of 2008-09 of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution Surveillance: Citizens and the State, published on 6 February.

Lord Bach: The breadth of the committee's 44 recommendations required the Ministry of Justice to work across government to provide a detailed and comprehensive response. This response was published today.

Crime: Suspicious Activity Reports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Information Commissioner is responsible for monitoring the propriety of and justification for entries in the Suspicious Activity Reports database maintained by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Lord West of Spithead: The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) do not specify a role for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in respect of the SARs regime. However, as with all personal data held, the ICO has jurisdiction to ensure that the statutory requirements of the DPA are followed by SOCA.

Crime: Suspicious Activity Reports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all end users of the suspicious activity reports (SARs) listed in the 2008 annual reports on SARs, published by the Serious Organised Crime Agency, have equal rights of online access to the SARs database.

Lord West of Spithead: All end users have access to the entire SARs database with the exception of SARs that are considered particularly sensitive, primarily those related to terrorism and corruption.

Deaf People: Typetalk

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will encourage Ofcom to ensure the adequate marketing of the text relay service for deaf people and hearing impaired people provided by Typetalk.

Lord Carter of Barnes: Ofcom is an independent national regulator and as such its remit does not include the marketing of services such as Typetalk. This responsibility was previously undertaken by the RNID but has recently been taken on by BT, which has shared its plans for marketing the service with Ofcom. These plans include a new website, leaflets and a biannual newsletter. BT has assured Ofcom that there will be no reduction in service during the transition.
	Ofcom along with HMG remain committed to improving telephony-based communications for deaf and hearing-impaired people. Ofcom has recently published a list of its top five immediate priorities for the year, which includes services for disabled people and assessing the business case for improving the existing text relay service.
	One of the objectives of the EU review of the electronic communications framework is to improve access and affordability for deaf and disabled users.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Complaints

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has had each year since 1998; and in what percentage of cases the agency admitted to making errors.

Lord Adonis: The number of complaints the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received since financial year 1999-00 are:
	
		
			 Financial Year 1999-00 2,379 
			 Financial Year 2000-01 2,437 
			 Financial Year 2001-02 3,592 
			 Financial Year 2002-03 3,389 
			 Financial Year 2003-04 4,576 
			 Financial Year 2004-05 4,768 
			 Financial Year 2005-06 7,774 
			 Financial Year 2006-07 7,142 
			 Financial Year 2007-08 6,078 
			 Financial Year 2008-09 4,929 
		
	
	Figures are not available for financial year 1998-99
	We cannot, without a manual intervention into each complaint case, supply the percentage of cases where the agency has made an error.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 5 May (HL2987), whether the recent partnership with the Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine entails that collaboration with scientists based in California is favoured by the Medical Research Council over collaboration with those based in Massachusetts, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Lord Drayson: The MRC's partnership with the Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) currently constitutes a targeted initiative to encourage collaborative proposals between researchers in California and the UK which aim to progress preclinical stem cell research towards clinical testing. The partnership addresses a particular strategic opportunity, but does not limit the MRC's capacity to support high quality research proposals submitted directly to the MRC which might include collaborations with researchers based in other states in the USA or in another country. The MRC continues to discuss scientific opportunities with a number of overseas partners, and remains central to international collaboration in stem cell research through its chairmanship of the International Stem Cell Forum.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 5 May (HL2987), what proportion of funding has been contributed by the Medical Research Council towards collaborative research with scientists based in California, and how this compares to financial contributions by the Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine to support the same partnership.

Lord Drayson: The MRC has identified funds of up to £5 million over four years to support the UK component of collaborative proposals submitted to the CIRM disease team request for applications. The MRC is fully involved in the peer review procedure to ensure the competitiveness of proposals. For successful collaborative proposals, CIRM will fund all project work done within the State of California and the MRC will fund the UK component of project, subject to the available funds.
	The overall CIRM budget available for the call is $200 million, and in addition to MRC, CIRM is partnering three other agencies under this call for applications under similar arrangements—the State of Victoria, Australia; the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium of Canada; and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN). Through this collaborative funding partner programme, California-based principal investigators (Pis) can collaborate with researchers eligible for funding by any of these agencies.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 5 May (HL2987), whether they can provide examples of original research publications describing human embryonic stem cells derived by nuclear transfer in which a primary or significant focus on such stem cells would not have been revealed without trained scrutiny of the entire content of a paper.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 5 May (HL2987), which significant examples of research publications describing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be cited for which neither the terms "induced pluripotent stem cell" nor "iPS cell" were explicitly used in the title, abstract or associated keywords, such that trained scrutiny of the entire content of a paper would be required to determine if research with such cells was described therein.

Lord Drayson: I refer the noble Lord to my previous Answer on 5 May (col. WA99) (HL2987).

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 5 May (HL2987), whether the citation rate of research papers normalised by subject area has provided a reliable measure of their quality in the case of papers claiming to have derived human embryonic stem cells following nuclear transfer, beginning with those described in the journal Science (Volume 303, pages 1669—1674).

Lord Drayson: The MRC has not undertaken an analysis of citation rates for research papers claiming to have derived human embryonic stem cells from nuclear transfer, and this could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.

Energy: Carbon Emissions

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what amount carbon emissions will be reduced by proposals for wind power generation on land in the United Kingdom; and how much carbon will be generated by the construction and manufacture of the generating capacity and infrastructure involved.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The UK renewable energy strategy consultation document set out scenarios for deployment of renewable energy needed to meet the UK's share of the EU renewable energy target. The central scenario presented in the consultation document hhtp://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewables/res/res.aspx suggested that the UK might need to produce around 32 per cent electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020.
	This level of renewable electricity was estimated to save between 45 to 50MtCO2 in 2020, of which around 27 per cent, or 12 to 13 MtCO2 could be attributable to onshore wind. Emissions from electricity generation are covered by the emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon savings from onshore wind are not counted as additional to ETS emissions reductions.
	Carbon savings are estimated by comparing the emissions from the generation mix under the renewable energy target, against emissions from the forecast generation mix under current measures, including RO banding. Estimates were made by independent consultants Redpoint et al (2008), and do not include any estimates for lifecycle emissions (from construction and manufacture) either of the renewable technologies, or of the conventional alternative.

Energy: Meters

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government when there will be a further announcement about the introduction of domestic smart meters; and when the installation of those meters will commence.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government published a consultation on smart metering on 11 May 2009. The consultation is available on the open consultations section of the DECC website.
	The consultation document includes discussion of the preparation programme that will be needed before the rollout of smart meters can begin. The preparation programme, and the start date for rollout, will reflect final decisions on the issues covered by the consultation.

Foster Care

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to improve the physical and mental health of children and young adults in foster care.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government are taking a number of steps to improve the physical and mental health of looked after children. In particular, we are currently consulting on revised statutory guidance on promoting the health and well-being of looked after children. This guidance will be statutory on primary care trusts, strategic health authorities and local authorities and it will clearly outline the steps that should be taken to improve both physical and mental health. In addition, we have introduced an indicator within the national indicator set to measure progress on improving the emotional and behavioural health of looked after children. Other actions being taken include taking forward the recommendations of the CAMHS review in relation to vulnerable children, the piloting of multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care and our wider Care Matters programme to improve outcomes for looked after children. This programme includes a number of measures to improve the quality of placements and of care planning which impact on children's health and well-being.

Foster Care

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what system is in place to tackle the disproportionately high rate of teenage pregnancy among young people in foster care.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We share concerns about England's high rate of teenage pregnancies including among children in care. That is why this Government launched the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in 1999, following a detailed report by the Social Exclusion Unit.
	Between 1998 and 2007 we have achieved a 10.7 per cent fall in the under-18 conception rate and a 6.4 per cent fall in the under-16 rate, reversing the previous upward trend. Within the overall reduction in teenage conceptions, teenage births have fallen by 23.3 per cent over the same period.
	Our strategy places a strong focus on targeted interventions with young people at greatest risk of teenage pregnancy, in particular looked-after children and care leavers. Government guidance to local areas on effective local teenage pregnancy strategies highlights the importance of training and support for foster carers in helping them talk to their foster children about sex and relationships. The CWDC's Foster Care Training, Support and Development Standards, which set out the skills which all foster carers are expected to demonstrate, include sexual health promotion.
	We are currently consulting on guidance on the health and well-being of looked-after children, which will be statutory for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities as well as on local authorities. This includes specific guidance relating to the prevention of teenage pregnancy.
	While girls and young women in care are still far more likely to give birth than those not in care, there has been a welcome recent fall in the number of girls and young women who are mothers in the looked-after population (12 years old and older) from 360 in 2007 to 280 in 2008 (source: SSDA903 return on children looked after).
	
		
			 Table A5: Mothers aged 12 years and over looked after at 31 March by age at 31 March, age at birth of first child, category of need, ethnic origin and placement 
			 Years ending 31 March 2005 to 20081,2,3 
			 Coverage: England 
			 numbers and percentages 
			  numberspercentages
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2005 2006 2007 2008 
			 All females looked after at 31 March1, 2 27,200 26,900 26,600 26,000 
			 All mothers aged 12 years old and over looked after at 31 March1,2 300 300 360 280 100 100 100 100 
			 Age at 31 March (years) 300 300 360 280 100 100 100 100 
			 12 to14 10 10 10 - 3 3 3 - 
			 15 40 40 40 30 14 12 11 12 
			 16 90 100 110 70 29 33 30 25 
			 17 160 160 200 170 54 53 56 61 
			 18 and over 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Age at birth of first child (years)4 x 300 360 280 x 100 100 100 
			 12 to 14 x 40 50 40 x 12 13 14 
			 15 x 60 80 80 x 21 23 29 
			 16 x 80 100 110 x 26 29 38 
			 17 x 40 60 50 x 12 16 19 
			 18 and over x 0 0 0 x 0 0 0 
			 Birth date not reported x 90 70 0 x 30 19 0 
			 Category of need5 300 300 360 280 100 100 100 100 
			 Abuse or neglect 140 150 180 150 48 50 50 52 
			 Child's disability  -  -  - - - 
			 Parent's illness or disability 10 10 10 10 4 3 2 5 
			 Family in acute stress 30 30 30 30 10 10 8 9 
			 Family dysfunction 50 50 60 50 16 17 18 17 
			 Socially unacceptable behaviour 10 10 10 10 5 4 3 4 
			 Low income  0  - - 0 -  
			 Absent parenting 50 50 60 40 17 16 18 13 
			 Ethnic origin 300 300 360 280 100 100 100 100 
			 White 190 180 220 160 63 60 61 57 
			 Mixed 20 30 30 30 8 9 8 12 
			 Asian or Asian British 10 10 10 10 2 2 2 4 
			 Black or Black British 80 80 90 70 25 28 26 24 
			 Other Ethnic groups 10 - 10 10 2  3 3 
			 Placement 300 300 360 280 100 100 100 100 
			 Foster placements 110 140 140 130 37 45 39 46 
			 Placed for adoption 0 0 0  0 0 0 - 
			 Placed with parents 30 20 20 20 8 6 5 7 
			 Placed in the community 80 80 120 80 26 27 33 27 
			 Secure units, children's homes and hostel 60 50 60 40 20 15 15 15 
			 Other residential settings 20 20 20 10 7 5 6 3 
			 Residential schools 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Missing—Absent for more than24 hours from agreed - - 10 - - - 1 - 
			 Other placement - - - - - - - - 
		
	
	Source: SSDA903
	1. Source: SSDA903 return on children looked after.
	2. Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.
	3. Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.
	4. Data on the first child's date of birth started to be collected in 2005-06.
	5. The most applicable category of the eight "Need Codes" at the time the child was taken into care rather than necessarily the entire reason they are looked after.

Foster Care

Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to reduce the proportion of young people in foster care entering the youth justice system.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The vast majority of looked after children do not commit offences. However, we recognise that as a group they are more likely to be subject to a final reprimand or warning or convicted of a crime than other children. To support local authorities to prevent looked after children becoming involved in crime, in 2005 the Government funded the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) to produce a handbook for local authorities on reducing offending by looked after children with practical examples setting out how authorities might work with partner agencies to minimise the involvement of looked after children in offending behaviour.
	To meet the commitments set out in the Care Matters White Paper and the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 we will be revising guidance to local authorities about how they must carry out their responsibilities towards looked after children. This revised guidance will include information about how we would expect looked after children to be supported and cared for to prevent them getting involved in offending, or, where they have committed offences, to minimise any further reoffending.

Gaza

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to assist the United Nations Secretary-General in seeking a positive response from Israel on the latest Gaza war crimes report.

Lord Malloch-Brown: On 5 May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulated a summary report of the UN Board of Inquiry (BoI) set up to investigate nine specific incidents involving UN property during the recent Gaza conflict.
	We are deeply concerned by the findings of the board and believe that the inviolability of UN installations should be respected.
	As we have said, we take seriously all allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law and have consistently stated that they should be properly investigated.
	There are still some aspects of Israeli investigations being carried out. Once the outcomes of this and other investigations are clear we will consider the results carefully and assess whether further action is necessary.

Government Departments: Bottled Water

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills or its predecessors spent on bottled water in each of the past five years.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Water at the department's offices is provided through the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), which manage the facilities of the buildings that DIUS occupies.
	Neither of these organisations holds separate records of the bottled water supplied to DIUS, so the information requested is not available.
	DIUS was a new department when it was created in June 2007. Records relating to the former Department of Trade and Industry and Department for Education and Skills are held by BERR and DCSF respectively.

Government Departments: Bottled Water

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Children, Schools and Families or its predecessors spent on bottled water in each of the past five years.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was created as a result of the Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Prior to June 2007, it was Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The spend figures are from bottled water made via the department's contract with Nestle Waters Powwow (NWP) in the past five years was:
	2008-09—£9,000;
	2007-08—£28,000;
	2006-07—£37,000;
	2005-06—£46,000; and
	2004-05—£53,000.
	The spend figures since June 2007 also include a portion of spend for Department for Universities and Skills DIUS (former DfES staff only). To separate this data would involve disproportionate cost.
	The department's contract with NWP finished in November 2008.
	Expenditure, including that on hospitality, has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity & Propriety.

Government Departments: Staff Absence

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the rates of staff (a) absence, and (b) sickness absence, were at (1) the Department for Transport, and (2) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, in each of the past three years; and what the targets for the department were in each case.

Lord Adonis: The information requested for absence (a) can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	Sickness absence is monitored by the central department and its agencies on a monthly basis. All figures are shown in average working days lost (AWDL) over the period of the calendar year:
	
		
			  2006 2007 2008 2010-11 Cabinet Office Target 
			 DfT(c) 5.5 5.5 5.1 3.7* 
			 DSA 13.7 15.0 12.5 10.0* 
			 DVLA 13.1 13.1 10.0 9.2* 
			 GCDA 12.2 8.8 10.6 6.7* 
			 HA 6.4 8.7 8.4 5.0* 
			 MCA 7.1 7.8 5.0 5.0* 
			 VCA 5.4 4.3 6.6 5.0* 
			 VOSA 9.1 11.4 8.8 7.4* 
			 DFT 10.2 11.0 8.9 7.5 
		
	
	* Internal Target. The only Cabinet Office target is 7.5 days AWDL for the entire department. Individual targets have been set internally across the central department and the agencies to help us reach this overall departmental target.
	The figures to 2006 have been previously published in the National Audit Office Report: The management of staff sickness absence in the Department for Transport and its agencies. The figures are based on an agreed departmental reporting methodology. Figures for 2007 onwards are in accordance with the Cabinet Office reporting methodology introduced for all government departments.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many departments outsource their websites; and what plans there are to bring them in-house when current contracts expire.

Lord Patel of Bradford: Most department websites and the main government website for citizens, direct.gov.uk, are run largely by internal teams that take responsibility for the content and overall management, although technical delivery and hosting is usually outsourced. NHS Choices and businesslink.gov.uk are outsourced, with management of the contracts by the Department for Health and HMRC respectively. The COI website's guidance on costs of websites, applicable from April 2009, contains a detailed list of the components in running websites (appendix B) and departments are free to organise themselves in what they consider to be the most effective and efficient way. No central record is currently available.

Guantanamo Bay

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of transport by air and car, including accompanying officials, involved in returning the following former detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United Kingdom: (a) Omar Deghayes, (b) Binyam Mohamed, (c) Jamal Abdullah Kiyemba, (d) Bisher al-Rawi, (e) Jamil al-Banna, and (f) Abdenour Sameur.

Lord Malloch-Brown: All operations for returning UK residents from Guantanamo Bay involved officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and from our embassy in Washington, accompanied by officers of the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure the security of the flight and to comply with police procedures during the return. In all cases military or private charters were necessary both to ensure security and because no other flight were available from Guantanamo Bay to the UK.
	Omar Deghayes, Jamil al-Banna and Abdenour Sameur were returned to the UK in December 2007. The total cost of the transport by air and car, including accompanying officials, was £163,129. This includes cost of the charter flight (£136,613) and other travel costs, including scheduled flights from the UK to the US for 16 accompanying police officers and officials.
	Binyam Mohamed was returned to the UK in February 2009. The total cost of transport by air and car, including accompanying officials, was £121,269. This includes cost of the charter flight (£105,695) and other travel costs, including scheduled flights from the UK to the US for nine accompanying police officers and officials.
	Bisher al-Rawi was returned to the UK in April 2007. The total cost of the transport by air and car, including accompanying officials, was £92,079. This includes cost of the charter flight (£76,079) and other travel costs, including scheduled flights from the UK to the US for eight accompanying police officers and officials.
	Jamal Abdullah Kiyemba was not returned from Guantanamo Bay to the UK. Mr Kiyemba is a Ugandan national who was transferred to his country of nationality in February 2006.

Guantanamo Bay: Binyam Mohamed

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost, exclusive of travel bills, for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and police officers who had responsibility to collect Mr Binyam Mohamed in Guantanamo Bay and accompany him back to the United Kingdom.

Lord Malloch-Brown: An official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and from our embassy in Washington took part in Mr Mohamed's return to the UK. They were accompanied by a Metropolitan Police Service doctor and seven police officers to ensure the security of the flight and to comply with police procedures during the return.
	The total cost, exclusive of travel bills, for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and police officers who had responsibility to collect Binyam Mohamed in Guantanamo Bay and accompany him back to the United Kingdom was £3,709. This figure includes costs incurred for accommodation and subsistence for the two Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, seven officers of the Metropolitan Police Service and the Metropolitan Police Service doctor involved in the return operation. The figure also includes fees associated with the provision of the accompanying doctor.

Health: Fragility Fractures

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that recurrent fragility fractures are prevented, in light of the recommendations of the National Audit of the Organisation of Services for Falls and Bone Health of Older People, published by the Royal College of Physicians on 25 March.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the strategic health authorities with regard to primary care trusts commissioning arrangements for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of fragility fractures and osteoporosis.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The forthcoming prevention package for older people will include a focus on best practice for commissioning falls prevention and care for people with fractures. This will support local organisations to improve falls and fractures services.
	Our regional implementation strategy will support the implementation of the department's forthcoming commissioning framework on falls and fracture but it is for local commissioners to ensure that services are in place locally.
	The department will continue to work closely with local stakeholders and other partners to plan our regional support activities in each of the strategic health authority regions to support improvements in falls and osteoporosis services for commissioners.

Health: Haemophilia

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health has revised his description of any risk to haemophilia patients of contracting variant CJD from blood given from donors who have subsequently died of vCJD as being "hypothetical", in light of a recent post-mortem having found vCJD in the spleen of one such patient; and how many patients have received blood from donors who have subsequently died of vCJD.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department and the Health Protection Agency acknowledged in 2004 the possibility that all patients with bleeding disorders who had been treated with United Kingdom-sourced pooled plasma products between 1980 and 2001 were, owing to potential variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) infectivity from these products, at risk of vCJD. The CJD Incidents Panel will consider the evidence from the recent finding of asymptomatic vCJD infection in a haemophiliac who died of unrelated causes and the implications for other haemophiliac patients when they meet on 20 May 2009. Their advice will be provided to the Chief Medical Officers, the UK Health Departments and the UK blood services.
	To date, 802 haemophilia patients are registered on the United Kingdom Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation database as receiving clotting factors made from UK plasma pools containing a donation from a donor who later went on to develop vCJD.
	In addition, there are 22 living recipients of blood components transfusion (this includes red cells, platelets and fresh frozen plasma) from blood donors who later went on to develop vCJD. None of these 22 recipients is a person with haemophilia.
	Sixty-six people received blood components transfusion (red cells, platelets and fresh frozen plasma) from blood donors who later went on to develop vCJD. Of these the majority of these patients have died, three after contracting vCJD and the others from unrelated causes, and 22 remain alive. None of these recipients was a person with haemophilia.

Influenza Pandemic

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government which departments have in place or plan to have in place departmental contingency plans for the outbreak of a flu pandemic; and when each of those plans came into effect or is planned to come into effect.

Lord Patel of Bradford: All departments have in place business continuity arrangements to address a wide range of scenarios, and are required do so under the security policy framework. These plans focus on ensuring continued delivery of critical departmental activities including at times of high staff absenteeism.
	The triggering of a departmental plan will depend upon the department, its size, the services it delivers and the challenges it faces.

Iraq: British Embassy

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to move the British Embassy Office in Erbil to new premises; whether they will take the opportunity presented at that time (a) to install a United Kingdom Trade and Investment representative in Erbil; and (b) to widen the United Kingdom visa issuing facilities to include business and student categories.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We are currently considering the feasibility of relocating our embassy office in Erbil. Potentially suitable new premises have been identified. Time frames for a possible move have not been agreed as the project is still at the feasibility stage. The functions and capacity of any future office will be dependent on value for money and the security of our staff.

Ireland: Schools

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the Republic of Ireland concerning its decision to remove funding from protestant schools, some of which have pupils and staff who are British citizens.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government have made no representations to the Government of the Republic of Ireland on this issue. Funding for schools in Ireland is a matter for the Irish Government.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the announcement of President Ahmadinejad of Iran that he will support a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine, if Palestine is still seeking this objective.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK would like to see Iran making a positive contribution to creating a secure, stable and prosperous Middle East. We continue to urge Iran to give political and diplomatic support to the Palestinian Authority in its attempts to build institutions and improve security. However, we remain concerned about the support that Iran provides in the form of funding, arms and training to Palestinian Rejectionist Groups including Hamas, which are undermining peace in the Middle East through violence.

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) what are the contracts of work currently being undertaken by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service; (b) what is the start date of each contract; (c) what work the contract entails; (d) what is the financial value of each contract; and (e) where the contract has been sub-contracted, which company is responsible for delivering the work.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Full details of the contracts of work currently being undertaken by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service are contained in Annex 1.
	
		
			 Annex 1 
			 LSIS sub-contracted work—worth over £1 million 
			 Contract Lead Contractor Consortium Members Start Date Current Value Work Content 
			 Beacons and STARs Nord Anglia None April 2007 £6,500,000 Awards for outstanding providers and practitioners 
			 Improvement Adviser Service Tribal None April 2008 £7,800,000 Provider improvement including intervention 
			 Support for Excellence Deloitte Morgan Webb Education August 2007 £3,500,000 Peer Review and Developmen t 
			 ERIQ—Extending the Reach and Improving the Quality of FLLN Tribal None February 2009 £2,200,000 Supporting literacy and numeracy via family learning. 
			 Move On (to World Class Skills) Tribal None March 2009 £1,200,000 Improved delivery of skills for life within train to gain following Ofsted report 
			 Skills for Life CfBT NRDC/LLU+ NIACE LSN September 2006 £8,000,000 Improving basic literacy and numeracy provision 
			 Diploma Support—Phase 2 SSAT LSN/The Workshop/Pearson/Hedra April 2008 £52,000,000 Supporting the introduction of new 14-19 qualifications 
			 Functional Skills for Adults LSN None October 2007 £2,250,000 Supporting the introduction of new functional skills qualifications for adults 
			 Functional Skills LSN None December 2006 £6,200,000 Supporting the introduction of new functional skills qualifications for 14-19 year-olds 
			 General Qualifications SSAT The 157 Group/SFCF/AOC/The Workshop January 2009 £1,950,000 Improved approaches to A levels and in particular the extended project 
			 Post-16 Citizenship LSN None September 2006 £3,700,000 Supporting the introduction of active citizenship provision in post-16 providers 
			 Qualification Reform Support LSN None October 2007 £2,400,000 Supporting the introduction of the new Qualification s and Curriculum Framework 
			 World Class Skills KPMG LSN/City & Guilds/AOC/ALP/Sales Insight May 2008 £13,500,000 Programme to support providers improve their engagement with employers 
			 STEM Tribal NCETM/Royal Academy of Engineering July 2008 £4,000,000 Specialist Support for teaching and learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics provision 
			 SLC (Subject Learning Coach Programme) Nord Anglia BDP/Desq Illumina June 2008 £13,700,000 Supporting the improvement of teaching and learning in specified subject areas via resources, networks and the training of subject learning coaches 
			 e-CPD—Online continuing professional development BDP ALT/DCTPN/North Hertfordshire and South Devon Colleges of Further Education/Derbyshire Adult and Community Education Service September 2008 £2,500,000 A programme of training for e-CPD champions within providers 
			 CETTs—Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training Northumbria University/ACER/South Leicestershire College/University of Huddersfield/London Institute of Education/University of Plymouth/Newcastle College/University of Sunderland/Learning South West/University of Warwick/Oxford Brookes University (Many linked organisations) April 2007 £3,000,000 Support for initial [FE] teacher training and post qualifying CPD 
			 Healthy FE Tribal None April 2009 £1,000,000 Promoting healthy life styles within further education 
			 Excellence Gateway Serco None April 2008 £3,000,000 A dissemination platform for FE materials and advice and effective practice

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills provides to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service and what proportion this constitutes of the total budget of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: In 2008-09 DIUS funding was £99 million which represented 68 per cent of the total Learning and Skills Improvement Service income.
	In 2009-10 DIUS funding is estimated at £96 million which represents 71 per cent of the total Learning and Skills Improvement Service income.
	In 2010-11 funding allocations have not been formally confirmed.

London Underground

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that the programme to upgrade the sub-surface line resignalling for London Underground is not scaled back or postponed.

Lord Adonis: At the conclusion of the last spending round the Secretary of State agreed a generous long term funding settlement with the Mayor of London worth some £40 billion over the period to 2017. It is now for the mayor, working with the resources available to him, to identify funding priorities for London's transport network.

Mobile Phones: Horse Riding

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (a) members of the public, and (b) police officers, are prohibited from using mobile phones while riding a horse on a public highway; and, if so, what are the penalties for the offence.

Lord Adonis: Members of the public and police officers are not prohibited from using a mobile phone while riding a horse on a public highway, so there are no penalties.

NHS: Whistleblowing

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to ensure that whistle-blowing in the NHS is not discouraged by fear of loss of professional registration.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) gives full protection of the law to staff who whistleblow in the public interest and the penalties for those who penalise staff for doing so are potentially very severe. The department has therefore, in light of the Act, made it clear that every National Health Service trust should have in place local policies and procedures that comply with the Act. Decisions on professional registration are made by independent regulatory bodies, not the Government, but we would expect them to make their decisions cognisant of a national context that encourages whistleblowing.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of bilateral relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Since establishing diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2000, the UK has followed a policy of carefully targeted critical engagement. Although not a party to them, we have supported the work of the Six Party Talks towards early denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. We have also worked with partners to identify ways to counter the underlying threat to regional stability in North East Asia. We have taken action to challenge human rights abuses in the DPRK and to explore ways to improve the flow of information in and out of the country on these issues. Our main aim is to work for positive change in the DPRK by exposing its citizens to external thinking and alternative models of economic and social organisation.
	We have expressed our strong condemnation of the satellite launch by the DPRK on 5 April. We have used our diplomatic relationship to urge the DPRK to abide by its international obligations, particularly those set out in UNSCR 1718, to refrain from further provocation, and to return to the Six Party Talks.

Pakistan: Public Relations

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have granted to Deen International Limited for the "I am the West" project in Pakistan.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have awarded the "I am the West" project to the Deen International Limited organisation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the benefits of funding a public relations initiative in Pakistan through a private company.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they monitor the use of their funding for the "I am the West" project; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that funding is not wasted or abused by the private company set up for the project.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is currently supporting Deen International to deliver a pilot project with the working title "I am Muslim. I am British" (formerly "I am the West") for which it has received £659,436.17 funding to date from the FCO.
	"I am Muslim. I am British" is not an FCO campaign. It is a community-led initiative that was proposed to the FCO and considered in line with established guidelines and procedures. The FCO, after careful consideration, agreed to fund the pilot project.
	Progress of this community-led initiative is continuously monitored according to FCO project management guidelines, with funding being released upon completion of agreed stages.
	This process is supported by a steering committee which receives regular updates on the project's implementation and agrees overall strategy. The steering committee provides a mechanism for the FCO to manage funding and ensure transparent and timely delivery.
	The initiative is delivered through a private company because it combines operational effectiveness, quick mobilisation and accounting transparency, which can otherwise be hard to achieve with community-led organisations.

Poland: Confiscated Property

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will call on the Government of Poland to fulfil, without delay, its obligation recognised by the OSCE, the European Parliament and the European Convention on Human Rights to make some restitution of the private property in its territory that was confiscated by Nazi and Communist regimes.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Our Embassy in Warsaw regularly lobbies the Polish Government to improve the law in the area of property restitution on behalf of all British citizens with claims. We understand that a draft law on restitution is being discussed by the Polish Council of Ministers and is expected to go to parliament later this year. We will continue to lobby for its swift adoption where opportunities arise with appropriate interlocutors.

Prisons: High Down

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff vacancies at HM Prison High Down are filled by (a) staff seconded from other prisons, and (b) staff working extra hours.

Lord Bach: High Down recruited to sufficient levels in March 2009 to enable prison officer detached duty staff from other prisons to cease. Under the conditional supplementary hours (CSH) scheme High Down offers 222 hours each week to those who wish to work extra hours for pay. Staff can also work extra hours and take time off in lieu. The CSH is funded by 5.7 unfilled current vacancies based on a staffing level of 280.

Prisons: Palliative Care

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to improve the provision of palliative care for terminally ill prisoners at HM Prison Full Sutton.

Lord Bach: Since April 2006, commissioning responsibility for prison health services has been fully devolved to the National Health Service.
	Primary care trusts work with prisons to assess the healthcare needs of their population, including their offender population, and develop services to meet those needs. It is the responsibility of the local partnership board to ensure that these are of an equivalent quality and range to that which the general public receives from the National Health Service.
	HM Prison Full Sutton presently has 13 men on its palliative care list. The palliative care list is made up of those who have been given a terminal diagnosis and a prognosis life span shorter than 18 months.
	HM Prison Full Sutton has been working very hard over the past year to ensure that the care that it offers to this group of men is of equivalence to that of the National Health Service. It now has a palliative care clinic, where all of the clients have a care plan taking the wishes of the individual into account with regard to their care at end of life.
	There has been some negotiation with the local hospice which will offer 24-hour care before the expected time of death. However, the majority of the men on the palliative care list wish to have their end of life care provided by the healthcare staff in the prison.

Railways: Diesel Vehicles

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they anticipate placing the order for the planned 200 new diesel-powered railway vehicles.

Lord Adonis: Work to procure the 202 diesel multiple unit vehicles is well under way and we expect to make an announcement shortly.

Rochester Bridge

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 1 April (WA 239), whether they have received representations from enquirers about the Rochester Bridge Trust; and, if so, whether they will publish the related documents.

Lord Adonis: Two Members of Parliament have written to the Department for Transport in connection with the agreement reached between Rochester Bridge Trust and Medway Council regarding the sale of the Medway Tunnel. I have placed copies of that correspondence in the Libraries of the House.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Saudi Arabia about the compatibility of women's human and civic rights in that country with United Nations law.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK urges all countries to uphold their international human rights obligations. Saudi Arabia has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In February 2009 the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia was reviewed by the UN in Geneva. One of the UK's recommendations to Saudi Arabia was to abolish its practice of guardianship for women, which severely inhibits their freedom. The UK will continue to encourage the Government of Saudi Arabia to implement fully all provisions of this and other human rights conventions to which they are party.

Shipping: Irish Lights

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 12 January (WA 126) which said there are no legal or constitutional reasons why they could not withdraw from the 1985 agreement on the funding of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, whether they will cease such payments from the General Lighthouse Fund in the same manner as they ceased funding by the Department of Health for health care for Irish pensioners under an agreement made between the two Governments in 1971.

Lord Adonis: Her Majesty's Government will continue to sanction expenditure from the General Lighthouse Fund in accordance with the 1985 agreement, to fund the Commissioners of Irish Lights while negotiations continue between the two Governments to put new funding arrangements in place.
	The UK has not ceased to make payments to Ireland under a long-standing bilateral healthcare agreement. During discussion between the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions officials and their Irish counterparts, it has been agreed that as a result of new evidence, the payments that the UK makes will reduce in future years.

Swine Flu

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role the (a) National Security Secretariat and (b) Civil Contingencies Secretariat have played in the response to swine flu.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The Civil Contingencies Secretariat has co-ordinated cross-government activity in support of the Department of Health as the lead UK government department for the swine flu outbreak. The National Security Secretariat has provided the facilities from which the collective cross-government response has been co-ordinated along with the necessary technical support.

Telephone Numbers

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a standard practice for departments using 0800, 084 and 087 telephone numbers; and, if not, whether advice is given to them on their use.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what instructions or advice are given to non-departmental public bodies on the use of 0800, 084 and 087 telephone numbers.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The use of 0800, 084, 087 and all other number ranges is currently a matter for individual departments and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). However, the Cabinet Office is developing guidance on the use of these numbering ranges. This guidance will be issued in mid-2009.

Tennyson Obih

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long Tennyson Obih had been seeking asylum in the United Kingdom prior to his murder of PC Jon Henry in 2007.

Lord West of Spithead: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Immigration wrote to the noble Lord on 14 May 2009.

Terrorism: Suspicious Activity Reports

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total sum of money collected relating to the suspected financing of terrorism through the suspicious activity reports regime (a) since it was created, and (b) in the past 12 months.

Lord West of Spithead: This information is unavailable as national figures are not collected centrally.
	Suspicious activity reports (SARs) make a contribution to a range of outcomes including asset recovery but also harm reduction, the building of intelligence on criminals and terrorists, and criminal convictions. In relation to terrorism, the information contained in SARs has been used to assist in the prevention of further terrorist activity, through being linked to ongoing inquiries, and regularly adds valuable new information.
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency's (SOCA) SARs annual report 2007-08 provides more information on cash seizures and other interventions arising from SARs. This can be found on the SOCA website at ww.soca.gov.uk.

Terrorism: Suspicious Activity Reports

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the operational cost of the suspicious activity reports regime to the Government (a) since it was created, including capital establishment costs, and (b) in the past 12 months.

Lord West of Spithead: Suspicious activity reports (SARs) are submitted to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Approximately £21,983,000 has been spent by SOCA on the operation of the UKFIU since April 2006, when it assumed responsibility for it. This figure includes IT development work.
	In the year to end-March 2009, £6,841,182 was spent specifically on the operation of the UKFIU.
	Pre-SOCA figures are not available.

Transport: Journey Sharing

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role journey-sharing has in carbon reduction; and whether there are any proposals to increase the practice among coach operators.

Lord Adonis: Journey sharing has an important role to play in reducing carbon. The effectiveness, of course, depends on the number of people sharing the vehicle. An average car commuter drives 12 miles a day. Cutting that by even half through car sharing would save around 400kg of carbon dioxide in one year—equivalent to around 170 litres of petrol. Transferring single occupancy car journeys to larger multiple occupancy vehicles, such as coaches, has the potential (depending on vehicle occupancy and vehicle emissions) to make significant further reductions to the emissions for a journey. However, there are no plans to specifically promote coaches above other multi-occupancy modes with regard to journey sharing.